PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — This week on Visions, we are celebrating Hispanic and Latin American culture.
‘No Sabo Kid’ conversation revolves around language and culture
Is speaking Spanish critical to a person’s identity as a Hispanic? How intertwined are language and culture? These are questions that loom for U.S.-born and raised Latinos grappling with their identity. The viral tag ‘no sabo kid’ has become a term describing people not proficient in their heritage language.
Nelson Flores, Ph.D. is a professor of linguistics education at University of Pennsylvania. He shares how language changes with environment and how that impacts culture through generations.
Lupita Barrientos is studying for her doctorate. She works with young people at CCATE, a Community Center created to nurture Hispanics in Norristown. She is teaching high school age kids Spanish, many of whom come from Latino background but speak primarily English.
At Pan American Academy Charter School the education system is completely bilingual. Kids from kindergarten through the 8th grade are taught using both English and Spanish in alternating classrooms.
The Bomba y Plena Cultural Center is a place where visitors speak Spanish and English. It is a community hub where the music is the primary form of communication, but it creates a welcoming space for all while teaching the important history of the Puerto Rican style music.
Philly Bomba Plena Cultural Center | Facebook | Instagram
1801 North 2nd Street, 1st Floor Suite 2, Philadelphia, PA 19134
CCATE | Facebook | Instagram
1246 West Main Street, Norristown, PA 19401
Pan American Academy Charter School | Facebook | Instagram
2830 North American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133
Casa de la Amistad a gathering spot for Hispanic seniors in Berks County
Mama Angie’s Casa de la Amistad is a daily hot spot of Hispanic seniors in Reading, Pennsylvania. The space offers everything from meals and exercise to nutrition and road trips.
The senior center is part of Centro Hispano, a community center that has been serving the Berks County community for 60 years. Services are meant to assist the immigrant population and provide a gathering spot for community.
Centro Hispano | Facebook | Instagram
201 Penn Street, Suite 101, Reading, PA 19601
Casa de la Amistad | Facebook | Instagram
25 North 2nd Street, Reading, PA 19601
‘Sabores of South Philly’ offers personal look inside Latino-owned businesses of AEM
‘Sabores of South Philly’ is a marketing campaign launched this year by the Association of Mexican Business Owners, or AEM. The networking organization has over 70 members who are all entrepreneurs of Latino descent who own businesses throughout the city. This campaign, which translates to ‘Flavors of South Philly’, shines a light on 23 of the member businesses in and around the area of the 9th Street Market — to encourage people to eat at their restaurants, buy their goods, use their services, and get to know the people and ‘the stories behind the storefronts’. The campaign was launched in February, and Association President Felipa Ventura (Owner of Tacqueria Morales) says it will be ongoing in hopes of increasing visibility and support of the businesses.
Association of Mexican Business Owners (AEM) | Facebook | Instagram
Philadelphia sculptor Miguel Horn leaves his mark on the city
From Reading Terminal Market to North Philadelphia playgrounds and The Logan Hotel, sculptor Miguel Horn is creating public art that sparks conversation and reflects the human experience.
Raised in Belmont Hills by parents who immigrated from Venezuela and Colombia, Horn discovered his passion for sculpture while studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After spending five years in Mexico City working alongside renowned artist Javier Marín, he returned to Philadelphia and opened his studio, El Cubo.
Many of Horn’s works draw on personal experiences, including Abu, a tribute to his father, now on display at the Woodmere Art Museum.
Most recently, Horn was selected to create a 150-foot-long installation for Negro League Memorial Park, scheduled to be unveiled on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15.
“If I was able to make people feel anything, then it’s successful,” Horn said.
Miguel Horn | Instagram | Facebook
A donated liver gives an 8-year-old Delaware boy the Gift of Life
PAID SPONSOR PARTNERSHIP: GIFT OF LIFE
8 year-old Amari Nichols was born in Dover, Delaware, a seemingly healthy baby.
But at 5 months old, he showed signs of jaundice and was so itchy he was scratching himself to the point of bleeding.
He was sent to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was diagnosed with a rare liver disease known as Alagille syndrome.
By age three, he had developed a exceptionally rare complication of the disease, a malignant liver tumor.
It was 2021, the height of the pandemic, and Amari needed a new liver.
His mother, Ruth Robinson, says the experience was terrifying.
Just two months after his cancer diagnosis, Gift of Life found a donor. Doctors expected his recovery to take four weeks, but Robinson says Amari recovered in just 13 days.
Today, nearly five years after his transplant, Amari is thriving.
His mother says doctors tell her Amari’s liver is functioning as if it were his own.
In June, he traveled to Denver for the Transplant Games, bringing home six medals: three gold, two silver and one bronze.
According to Gift of Life, 5,000 people in the region are awaiting transplants, and about 20% of those on organ waiting lists are Hispanic.
Amari’s journey highlights the impact of organ donation and what Richard Hasz, president and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program, calls “the miracle of transplantation.”
“I’m thankful for the gift of life, forever grateful for the gift of life,” says Ruth Robinson.
Gift of Life Donor Program Facebook | Instagram
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